To Monsters and Creatures Treatises

I must admit that this is the first treatise that has given me pause in the making. When I stepped into the great Library of Aranor, I intended to dig forth a few sourcebooks and do a simple condensation of resources.

You can imagine my dismay when my searches brought up near to nothing. Growing more frantic, I used my contacts, rooted through the archives, and searched old journals. All that, and the best I could do was to pull up a few bits here and there, mentions of brief sightings of lithe, elusive creatures.

Well, more than a moon of research has gone into this treatise, and I still feel that it is woefully incomplete. But at least, I hope, a rough sketch has been formed from my words.

The common idea of a daetaur brings forth an image of a creature half-deer and half-fae. Agile and quick, they grant us only glimpses of their forms in the deep woods. No other creature has so eluded our study, and a daetaur has never been killed by a hunter, nor have the remains of one ever been found. They seem aware of us from the farthest distance, and hunters who have pursued them attest to the fact that the daetaur possesses powerful glamouric capabilities.

I came upon a rise, and at the edge of the meadow below, saw what could only be one of the legendary daetaurs. She was beautiful, captivating.  To a huntsman like myself, I think she held something of what the mermaid holds for the sailor upon the seas. Without thinking, I kicked my horse down the hill.

This is from the journal of a huntsman from Rilhaven, written a year before the fall of Antara, and tells us something of the daetaurs’ magical capacities. Whenever a human has given chase, they have found the paths to twist and turn, the trees to shift and dance, and the ground to rise and fall under their feet.

The consensus among sages is that creatures who possess such powerful glamour also dwell mostly in the realm of fae, so perhaps all we see of the daetaurs is their ‘shadows’ as they tread closer to the realm of Carador.

Daetaurs are creatures of the old woodlands – they have been sighted in the New and Old Worlds, in the forests of Rel Morde, throughout the lands of Masalla (especially on the isle of Lotarn), and upon Aryn Isle near Jedda.

We learn more only through the communications of the social breeds of fae, for it is here, in the interaction of adventurer and nymph, for instance, that we have discovered what the true nature of daetaurs might be.

In the realm of fae (or, to put it more sagely, the Elemental Realm), daetaurs are quite common. Their usually live in gatherings of six to fourteen individuals, often consisting of a few males and a larger number of females. The antlered males serve as the primary protectors of the gathering, which has never before been named, and which I will officially call a ‘kerry’.  The kerry lives a rather nomadic life, moving throughout the forest and gathering berries, fruit, and succulent greens, which make up the bulk of the daetaurs' diet. During the winter moons the daetaurs settle into a camp, collecting autumn foods which they dry and store for the cold days ahead.

The kerry has a ‘head male’, who has mating rights and will make most of the decisions regarding where the kerry will travel, where to make a winter camp, and whether or not to attend fae gatherings. The other males gain the protection and companionship of the kerry, but most will aspire to have their own kerry at some point. This can happen in a variety of ways, but often, when a kerry grows too large, it will split into two, and one of the lesser males will take his place as the head of the new group. In general, kerries get along well, and certainly do not battle for territory or mates, since daetaurs belong to a kerry of their own free will. Still, unless it is under the guise of an official fae gathering, kerries will generally steer around each other and go about their own business.

It must be remembered, however, that this is the ‘usual’ structure of daetaur society, and that in reality, the creatures live a broad range of lifestyles. Here are the most common variants –

Rogues – For one reason or another, a daetaur will sometimes leave a kerry and choose not to join another. Both males and females will ‘go rogue’, and will then live rather solitary lives. Rogues are commonly more apt to interact with other fae, and it is from these interactions that we gather most of our knowledge concerning daetaurs.

Couples – Daetaurs seem prone to love, much in the same way humans think of it. Often romance develops between two daetaurs, who will then take leave of their kerry and find their own lives within the forestlands.

Raes – Similar to couples, raes are trios, often of one male and two females, or, more rarely, of three females. The rae is a grouping formed by bonds of ‘romantic’ love.

Families – Some daetaurs clearly form kerries based on blood and family ties, though little else is known of these groupings.

Tills – These are groups of male daetaurs, sometimes numbering more than twenty. Tills are usually composed of former rogues. The till is a warrior grouping, and these daetaurs roam the woodlands and actually hunt the creatures who prey upon daetaur flesh. They will often use bows, staves, slings, or ‘found’ weapons, such as swords, hunting knives, or even crossbows.

Although considered immortal, the daetaurs, like most fae and the demonic races, probably simply have long life-spans which range into centuries. Still, most daetaurs have a considerably shorter life, due to the large number of predators that consider them prey.

Their greatest predators are undoubtedly the legendary chimera – huge bundles of tooth and claw who, luckily for all, are uncommon even in the Elemental Realm. Chimera are a particular risk during the cold season, when they utilize their keen noses to find a daetaur encampment and raid it for fresh meat. Goblins are also a danger, as well as forest dragons and dire wolves.

When it comes to other fae, the daetaurs are friendly but scarce companions – they will only attend the forest-wide fae gatherings upon rare occasions, and it is the rogues who most often will take company with a nymph or tyver and enjoy the pleasures of conversation and shared adventures. Otherwise the daetaurs keep remarkably to themselves, making their own way in the great forests.

As the modern times seem to be weakening the veil between Carador and the Elemental, perhaps we will begin to see more of these mysterious creatures. It is only by direct contact that we can possibly hope to learn more concerning their lifeways and society.

For now, all that is truly clear is that the daetaurs, much like humankin, pursue a wide variety of lifestyles, some dwelling in the simple ways of the original fae, while others have discovered such human attributes as love, the use of tools and weapons, and the development of simple societies.

Perhaps, as some sages suggest, the daetaurs will give us clues to our own origins as humans, since their lifeways mirror many of our own social developments, such as the concept of family, warrior societies, and hierarchy. These are certainly traits which are seldom found in the other ‘pure’ fae races – even those who appear much more similar to ourselves, such as the nymphs and tyver.

Why creatures who are so physically divergent from ourselves should so clearly demonstrate social similarities may lead us closer to the mystery of our own earliest roots. And it certainly warrants more careful study.